


A Darcy Lewis Collection

by ShadyMcKatie



Category: Avengers (Comics), Fantastic Four (Movies 2005-2007), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Crossover, Darcy is the fandom bicycle and I love it, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fraction's Hawkeye, Getting Together, One Shot Collection, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-24
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-31 22:54:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 12,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3996178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadyMcKatie/pseuds/ShadyMcKatie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of any Darcy Lewis-centric ideas that I come across. Lots of pairings and lots of fun.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hawkguy's Boxers

**Author's Note:**

> "The fire alarm went off at 3 am and now the cute guy from the flat next door is standing next to me in his underwear." AU. Darcy Lewis/Clint Barton

As much as Darcy Lewis would have loved to pal around with Doctor Jane Foster as an unpaid intern for the rest of her life, that just wasn’t practical. So Darcy pulled up her big girl panties and (finally) finished up her political science degree at Culver. She got a job as an aide to a congressman from Brooklyn, so off to New York she went. She managed to make her way to Manhattan to visit Jane at the newly rechristened Avengers Tower once or twice, but the trip was horrendous. Darcy loved the eclectic feel of Brooklyn, but she hatted the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. It was like no one ever stopped to take a breath. So she persuaded Jane into a biweekly dinner date at an amazing pizza place down the block from her apartment and avoided Manhattan all together. 

Now, Darcy was one of the lucky recent graduates who had been able to find a job, but that didn’t mean that the salary was anywhere near adequate. She managed to find a tiny shoebox of an apartment in a building that her neighbors insisted was owned by someone named Hawkguy. Darcy didn’t like to think about the type of whack job that would want to be called Hawkguy. He sounded like a cheap knock off of the Avenger with the bow and arrow. 

So Darcy had found her place in life, working ridiculous hours at the congressman’s office before dragging her ass up to her fourth floor walkup and vegging out in front of endless marathons of whatever was next on her Netflix cue. If she had managed to make it to the corner store at some point during the week, there might even be ice cream for her to chow down on. 

One night, Darcy passed out in front of her TV while episode after episode of the latest House of Cards season exhausted her laptop battery. She was jolted awake by a shrill and persistent fire alarm. A quick glance at her cell phone showed that it was almost three in the morning. Darcy weighed the fact that she had to be awake in four hours against the possibility that she might die in an apartment fire before deciding that there was no way she was getting back to sleep. She threw her comfiest, oldest sweatshirt on over the clothes she had fallen asleep in and trudged outside. 

She stood on the sidewalk outside her building, slightly apart from her neighbors. Darcy was not a morning person (and yes 3:00 am definitely counted as morning). She was pleasantly surprised when she was joined by a rather stocky but well defined man she had never seen before wearing nothing but a pair of boxers with eagles on them. Now that wasn’t something Darcy and her big mouth could notice and not comment on. 

“Dude, are you wearing underwear with eagles on them?” she asked. 

“They’re hawks,” he said, looking slightly affronted. “Eagles have white feathers on their heads.” 

“Those are only bald eagles,” Darcy said. “And I guess the question now is why.”

“They were a gag gift,” he said. “Kind of a play on a nickname.” He scratched his the back of his neck, looking slightly uneasy. 

“Wait a minute,” Darcy nearly screamed, making her new companion jump a bit. “Are you that Hawkguy the dude in 4D won’t shut up about?” 

“Ugh, how many times do I need to tell him that it’s Hawkeye, not guy,” he said. 

“Like the Avenger?” Darcy screeched. 

“Yeah, yeah,” the dude (Hawkeye!) said. “No need to yell about it. Most people call me Clint.” 

“Well, Clint, am I excited to meet you,” Darcy continued at a slightly more subdued volume. “Jane told me all about those pranks you pull on Stark. Glitter in Dumm-e’s fire extinguisher? Brilliant!” 

“Wait, you know Doc Foster?” Clint asked. “Holy shit, you’re the intern aren’t you? Lewis, right?” 

“The very same,” Darcy said with a slight bow. “Acclaimed scientist herder and taser of Norse gods.” She gave Clint a very obvious once over. “Funny. Jane never mentioned how jacked you are.”

It was almost too dark to see, but Clint blushed from the roots of his hair to his collarbones. “Yeah, um, she probably has very high standards for muscles now, considering she’s the god of thunder’s main squeeze,” he said. 

“And only squeeze” Darcy laughed. “It’s a shame though. I would have made the trek out to the tower more often if I knew I would have run into you.” 

“Well, you said you were a fan of the glitter extinguisher,” Clint said, “Why don’t you help me plan out my next prank. I’m thinking something huge that may or may not involve some penis-shaped confetti that I had to special order.” 

Darcy’s eye widened in excitement. She stuck her hand out to shake Clint’s. “I have a feeling this is the beginning of something beautiful, Hawkguy.” 

“Not you too,” Clint groaned. He shook her hand anyway.


	2. The Magic of a Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate tattoo AU. Darcy/Bucky

Darcy Lewis was running horrendously late. Leave it to her to find a way to be late to a job in the same building as her apartment, but she couldn’t survive without her caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino from Starbucks. So here she was, sprinting from one of Avengers’ Towers communal kitchens, strawberry pop tarts and a half finished Frappuccino in hand. She was so concerned with the fact that Jane was going to go berserk without her morning pastries that she didn’t notice the very muscular, tee shirt clad chest coming towards her until she barreled right into it. 

Darcy fell right on her ass. Mr. Tall and Sculpted barely moved, much to her chagrin. Any irritation quickly faded when she noticed that the man standing in front of her was the recently discovered and (hopefully) recovered Winter Soldier. The feared assassin had gotten a face-full of caramel deliciousness and currently had globs of whipped cream in his hair and bits of gooey pop tarts stuck to his tee shirt. So Darcy did what Darcy does best when she’s nervous, she started talking. 

“Oh my god,” she began as she stood up. “I am so sorry, dude. I mean, I totally didn’t see you there and I think as a trained assassin the onus is on you to avoid collisions. But, whatever, I can accept some responsibility. Like, maybe seventy five percent. And the Frappuccino thing is totally my fault. Holy shit, wait a minute, is this your first introduction to the amazing perfection that is a Starbucks Frappuccino?” The Winter Soldier just continues to stare at her, so Darcy kept talking. “Don’t let this one bad encounter ruin any chance that you had of enjoying some Starbucks. I would hate to be the reason that you never really got the experience to enjoy the wonderful, caffeinated heaven of a caramel ribbon crunch –“ 

“Please. Stop. Talking.” The Winter Soldier finally interrupted. Darcy gulped, most likely audibly. Those exact words were written in harsh, narrow handwriting on her right hip, right above her bikini line. 

“Yes, Mr. Winter Soldier, sir,” she almost whispered. Her breath caught when he took his shirt off. Right there, on his left pectoral muscle, was a perfect transcription of all drivel she had just spouted. It was even written in her bubbly handwriting. The last word of every line was cut off where his metal arm fused with his skin. 

“Have I been waiting a long time for you, doll,” he finally said. 

“Not my fault you were born, like, half a century before I was, dude,” Darcy said. She pulled the top of the skinny jeans she was wearing down to show him her words. “You have no idea the shit people gave me for these all my life.”

“You wanna talk about taking shit,” he snorted. “People didn’t even know what Frappuccinos were! Plus you called me an assassin!” 

“Eh, I guess we’ll call it even then,” Darcy said. She stuck out her hand. “Darcy Lewis, assistant to the brilliant Dr. Jane Foster and professional pop tart chef.” 

“Bucky Barnes,” he said, shaking her hand. “Former Howling Commando and reformed Hydra assassin.” He glanced down at his uncovered chest. “Uh, sorry about the words. Them not being in pristine condition and all.” He wouldn’t meet Darcy’s eyes. She could almost feel her heart breaking. 

“Don’t worry about it,” she said, trying her best to sound casual. “I think you have more than enough words as it is. Now what do you say you help me toast another batch of pop tarts for Jane and then we go properly introduce you to Starbucks?” 

“That sounds great,” Bucky said with a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Don't be afraid to leave some comments!


	3. These Are Not The Cookies You're Looking For

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You just made a reference to your friend and they didn’t get it. I overheard and am now laughing hysterically. AU   
> Darcy/Tony

Darcy had lived in Avengers Tower for almost two weeks. Unfortunately, she hadn’t meet any of the occupants that the tower was named for thanks to an extended science binge that Jane needed help with. So Darcy has spent a lot of time chasing Jane around with pop tarts, throwing pants at Erik, and making sure no one fell asleep standing up. The science marathon had finally come to an end when Jane suddenly stood up, yelled “Eureka!” (which, seriously, can you get more cliché), and promptly started happy dancing. Darcy had no idea what they actually accomplished but she was just glad to be out the labs for an extended period of time. 

She slept for fourteen hours, threw on some (semi) presentable yoga pants and an old Culver tee shirt, then plopped herself in front of the flat screen TV in the communal living space to watch some mindless television. She was watching the fifth inning of a Mets game when she heard cabinets banging in the kitchen directly behind her. Darcy tentatively peaked her head over the back of the couch and was rewarded with an unobstructed view of Captain America’s back in a white tee shirt that must have been at least two sizes too small for him. He was opening and closing cabinets so vigorously that she was surprised none of the doors had come off their hinges yet. 

“Damn Stark,” he was mumbling. “Thinks the entire fucking world belongs to him.” 

Tony Stark chose that very moment to enter the kitchen, an empty sleeve of Oreos in his hand. “I think I just felt my ears burning,” he said. “All good things, I hope. Not that I would expect anything less from you, Captain.”

“Stark,” Steve said with his teeth clenched. “Are those my Oreos?” Darcy shivered a little. She would hate to be on the receiving end of Captain America’s angry voice. 

“Uh,” to Stark’s credit, he wasn’t terrified like Darcy, but he did look a bit nervous. “These are not the cookies you are looking for.” He waved two fingers in a slow arc in front of the Captain’s face. He did not look impressed.

“You know damn well that they are, Stark!” he nearly screamed. 

Darcy couldn’t help herself, she burst out laughing. Steve and Tony both jumped, realizing that they weren’t the only ones in the room. The surprised looks on their face only made Darcy laugh harder. 

“Do I know you?” Stark asked. Darcy just continued cracking up. Between14 days straight of science and the surreal scene that she just witnessed, Darcy didn’t think she’d be able to pull herself together anytime soon. “Jarvis, who is this crazy person in my living room?” 

“Her name is Darcy Lewis, sir,” the AI answered. “She is Dr. Foster’s assistant. She moved into the tower approximately two weeks ago.” 

“Well, Lewis, any fan of the Force is a friend of mine,” Stark said. Steve just threw his hands up in defeat and left the room. 

“So, Iron Man,” Darcy finally managed, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “Are you up for a movie marathon?” 

“Am I ever,” answered Stark. 

“Please tell me you have the cinematic release versions of the original trilogy,” Darcy said. 

“I’m insulted that you think I wouldn’t” Stark replied. The two sat together on Stark’s opulent couch for almost fourteen hours. Darcy is proud to admit that she only flipped out about being in the presence of the Tony Stark like eight times. And that was all during the first six hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Star Wars is amazing and Tony and Darcy are obviously huge geeks so...Plus, Steve isn't above a little swearing if someone steals his Oreos.


	4. When Darcy Made Cupcakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We hate each other but we both have a mutual friend so we have to put up with each other AU.  
> Darcy/Pietro

Clint had mentioned to Darcy that he almost shot Pietro with his bow during the battle against Ultron. At first, Darcy had been horrified. Pietro had just emerged from a lengthy recovery due to the fac that he got shot ten times (ten!) saving Clint and some kid. Then Darcy actually met Pietro and she understood the temptation. She even begged Clint to teach her how to use a bow and arrow so she shoot him herself.  
Unfortunately for Darcy, Clint was spending a lot more time at his farm these days, acting in a consulting role with the new Avengers squad. Who could really blame him, those kids were adorable. The only person happier than Clint that his family had finally been revealed was Darcy. Clint for the obvious reasons and Darcy because she had bet almost everyone that she met that there was no way a good old Iowa boy like Clint wouldn’t use all of his hazard pay to fix himself up a farm out in the middle of nowhere. Everyone expect for Natasha had bet against her, who, bless her heart, knew Darcy was right the whole time and didn’t ruin it. Darcy used her winnings to buy an awesome new pair of high end head phones that she had had her eyes on for a while. 

Anyway, Pietro was a little piece of shit and Darcy would love nothing more than to shoot him in his (very fine) ass with any type of projectile (she wasn’t picky). It was really too bad that Wanda was such a cool chick. Darcy loved to hang around with cool chicks. So, by extension, Darcy was forced to hang out with Wanda’s obnoxious and unfortunately mouthwatering twin brother. 

Today, Darcy and Wanda were making cupcakes, or at least trying to, while Pietro and the Vision watched. Darcy liked the Vision, although she always felt a little stupid in his presence. Sure, Jane was super smart, but she was only human. The Vision was…the Vision. But he made Wanda happy, and that’s all that really mattered to Darcy. 

So here she was, in the communal kitchen of the new Avengers facility, covered in flour and wearing a ‘Kiss the Cook’ apron that she had gotten Steve as a gag gift. 

“So, драга особа,” Pietro said with his usual shit eating grin. “When would like this kiss you are asking for?” Ugh, Darcy would have loved that accent if wasn’t such an ass. 

“How about when you beat Thor in an arm wrestling contest,” Darcy said, not looking up from the cupcake she was meticulously icing to look like a red spider on a black background. 

“Ah, how you wound me,” Pietro said, placing a handover his heart in mock pain. 

“I’m sure your big ego will recover in no time,” Darcy snorted. She had moved on to icing the next cupcake with Cap’s shield. 

Wanda laughed from where she was standing next to Darcy, adding food coloring to the vanilla icing. “Pietro, you should not antagonize Darcy,” she said. “She will not make you a cupcake.” 

The Vision nodded. “She has threatened to withhold a multitude of desserts from me in the past,” he said. Darcy laughed. Denying the various Avengers sugar was one of the only ways that she got anyone to listen to her around here. 

“I am not worried,” Pietro replied. “I know that Darcy has a soft spot for me.”

“You wish, Sonic,’ Darcy said scathingly. 

Pietro frowned. “I do not know this Sonic.” 

“According to my research,” the Vision began, “Sonic the Hedgehog is a character from a popular video game. He appears to have the ability of moving very quickly, much like yourself, Mr. Maximoff.” 

“I think, драга особа, that you would find that I am not always fast. I can be very deliberate if I am determined,” Pietro said in a more sultry voice that usual. He even winked.  
Darcy had to take a moment to remind herself that this was Pietro, the most annoying man in the world, no matter how sexy he may be at the moment. She was saved from making a response when klaxons began sounding throughout the compound, the signal for the Avengers to assemble. 

“I’m so sorry, Darcy,” Wanda said, wiping her hands off on a dishtowel. 

“Don’t worry about it, Wanda,” Darcy said. “I’ll just finish them up for when you guys get back.” She couldn’t keep a slight edge from slipping into her voice. She hated when the team had to leave, no matter the reason. They were her family and she couldn’t bear to contemplate the idea of any of them getting hurt. Even Pietro. Especially Pietro.  
Wanda laid a hand on Darcy’s shoulder for a moment before leaving the room hurriedly, the Vision at her side. 

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” she asked Pietro, not meeting his eyes and trying to find something to do with her hands. Pietro just stepped around the island, right into her personal space. 

“Do not worry, драги,” he said, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. “I will make sure to come back to you.” 

“You better, or I’ll beat your ass,” Darcy said. On an impulse, she stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t make me regret that.”  
Pietro mock saluted her before disappearing with a gust of wind. Darcy gathered herself and set about decorating the rest of the cupcakes. 

~*~

It would be almost two weeks before the Avengers returned. It was close to midnight but Pietro knocked on Darcy’s apartment door anyway. He was exhausted and a little bruised but otherwise none the worse for wear. 

Darcy opened the door a crack to see who woke her up before flinging the door wide open and throwing herself at a very surprised Pietro.

“What took you so damn long, Speedy?” she whispered as she hugged him for dear life. 

Pietro laughed as he ran his hands up and down Darcy’s back reassuringly. “I apologize, драги, but you know not all of my comrades are as fast as I am.” 

Darcy disentangled herself from Pietro but grabbed onto his hand and dragged him into her apartment. “I want you to take me to dinner as an apology for making me worry,” she said. 

“Of course” Pietro said with a smile. That smile faded when he saw the slightly stale cupcake Darcy had presented him. “Why is my symbol a mule?” he asked, brows furrowed. 

“It’s a donkey,” Darcy said with a smile. “Because you’re an ass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the longest one so far! 
> 
> Just a note, I used Serbian (from Google translate) because Sokovian obviously isn't a real language. Apparently, Serbian was the language that was used in the set of Age of Ultron. Sorry about any wrong translations, but I don't actually speak Serbian. 
> 
> драга особа - dear  
> драги - sweetheart


	5. Performance Issues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They captured you and put me in your room because I can suppress other people’s powers AU.   
> Darcy/Johnny Storm (Fantastic Four)

Darcy had been captured by Hydra almost six months ago. She was snatched right out of her shoebox apartment, furious that she hadn’t gotten the chance to eat the Chinese takeout she just ordered and kicking herself for not accepting Jane’s offer to live on her floor in Avengers Tower. Stupid independence steak. But a girl can only be surrounded by a mad scientist and her alien god boyfriend for so long, you know? It was enough for Darcy to see them almost every day at the labs. Darcy doesn’t think she’s made a worse decision in her life, including the time that she dated the hippie art major who didn’t shower during her freshman year of college. 

What exactly Hydra wanted with Darcy, she couldn’t tell you. All she knows is that they knocked her out and when she woke up it was six weeks later and she found out that she could suppress some super powers. Go figure. Ever since then Darcy had been kept in a tiny yet not uncomfortable cell with a rotating cast of people she assumed had some sort of super power. They never really spoke to her, figuring that she was on Hydra’s side. Darcy had never been so lonely in her life. They never stayed for very long, but she had no idea what had happened to any of them. She tried not to think about it. 

One morning (at least Darcy assumed it was morning because the automatic lights had turned on not that long ago), there was a commotion right outside Darcy’s cell. The door burst open and two guards in flame retardant suits through a man into her cell, which in itself wasn’t that unusual. What was unusual was that the man was literally on fire. The flames went out the second he entered the room. He furrowed his brows in concentration, but nothing happened. He let out a grunt in frustration. 

“I’ve heard that performance issues are pretty prevalent among men, no matter their age,” she said in place of a greeting. 

“This is your fault, isn’t it?” he asked angrily. Darcy shrugged. The fire man stood up and began to walk around the cell, almost as if he was studying every inch of it. Darcy decided to study every inch of him. He was tall and his muscles were defined, but he wasn’t a big man. He was rather lean. He had short blonde hair and the nicest blue eyes Darcy had ever seen, and that was an accomplishment considering she had hung out with Captain America a couple of times. He suddenly turned back to her. “Could you, like, stop whatever you’re doing? I could try and get us both out of here, maybe get you some nicer digs.” 

“Sorry,” Darcy said. “I don’t even know if that’s possible. I haven’t been able to do this for that long.” She stuck her hand out to shake his. “Darcy Lewis.”

“Johnny Storm,” He said, shaking her hand. “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to know a Jane Foster would you?” 

”Yeah,” Darcy said, trying not to get emotional. “She was my best friend, before all this.” 

Johnny was quiet for a moment. “She’s still looking for you. Thor and the rest of the Avengers too,” he said. He smiled a little bit. “I was actually supposed to be trying to find you and bring you back. I guess I got halfway there.” 

Darcy tried her best to not let the tears forming in her eyes fall. “I thought they would have given up by now.” 

“Are you kidding me?” Johnny laughed. “I don’t think the Doc has slept since you went missing. She’s furious. I suggested that we let her loose on the Hydra base. She’d get to you faster than any of us could.”

“That does sound like Jane,” Darcy gave a watery laugh. She tried to wipe her eyes without Johnny noticing. She’s ninety percent sure she failed, but he was nice enough not to comment on it. 

“Thor wasn’t a big fan of the plan,” he continued. 

Darcy laughed a little bit more. “And that sounds like Thor.” She sighed, all traces of happiness leaving her face. “I guess we’re stuck here for a while, huh?” She plopped herself down on the bed in the corner. 

Johnny sighed too. “Yeah, but it’s not that bad. I’m sure Sue will flip out once I miss a check in. She’ll get us out. We just have to wait it out.” He sat down on the bed next to Darcy, throwing his arm around her shoulders. “We have the Avengers and the Fantastic Four looking for us, sweetheart, I doubt we’ll be here for long. Now, why don’t you tell me about that time you tased Thor in New Mexico?” 

Darcy leaned into Johnny’s side a little before beginning her story. She felt better than she had in a long time. She wasn’t alone. Johnny was actually being a good cell mate. And the Avengers were still looking for her. She hadn’t been forgotten.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not continue this one, I'll see if I get any inspiration.


	6. Boot and Rally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy/Steve High School AU.  
> We both have friends who party too hard and we keep running into each other in the bathroom while we hold their hair back.

Darcy Lewis was not the brightest crayon in the box. Sure, she managed to earn decent grades and she had yet to fail a class in high school, but she was no Jane Foster. As a result, Darcy didn’t party much. She couldn’t afford to miss out on valuable Sunday morning study time because she was nursing a hangover. Darcy’s aforementioned best friend Jane had no problem at all with sleeping in until four in the afternoon every Sunday. As a result, Darcy became the permanent designated driver and sober guardian. Jane just told her where to find the parties. 

Now a stereotypical science nerd like Jane might not have been privy to the best high school parties, but then again, a stereotypical science nerd isn’t totally smoking hot like Jane is. Beauty had a way of helping a high school student transcend social boundaries. Go figure. Darcy was just glad that she got to experience the next week’s hottest gossip first hand, like the time that she actually saw that Russian exchange student Natasha drag Clint Barton into a closet. They both had emerged almost an hour later looking a little rumpled but very satisfied with themselves. That was, until Bobbi Morse marched right up to Clint and smacked him in the face. In Darcy’s opinion, it was better than a movie. 

More often than not the hottest party of the weekend was hosted by Tony Stark. Tony had more money than he knew what to do with and parents who spent an awful lot of time traveling the world without their son. You couldn’t ask for a better party host. Unlimited booze, all the coolest kids from school, and plenty of nooks and crannies to get crazy with said cool kids. Throw in the fact that Tony was almost as smart as Jane and loved to have drunk arguments about astrophysics and string theory and Jane was in heaven. Darcy was a big fan because there was always a nice couch for her to sprawl herself on. Sometimes she even hijacked the AUX cord and DJed for a little while. 

Jane had gotten a 5 on the AP Chemistry test her sophomore year, but that didn’t mean that she had a good grasp of what exactly alcohol did to her petite body. Darcy considered it her one major flaw. Jane was almost as used to seeing the inside of one of Tony’s high end toilets as Darcy was to seeing the home screen of her iPod. Darcy was nothing if not an amazing friend and was always there to hold back Jane’s hair.

It was a typical Saturday night party at Stark’s sometime towards the end of Darcy’s senior year. People were going all out, realizing that they’re high school days were drawing to a close. The school was abuzz with gossip about who was going to prom with who and which after parties would be the most fun. Darcy was perched on the arm of a couch, iPod in hand, while she kept an eye on Jane. She was currently gesturing wildly with her hands, nearly spilling her drink on a bemused looking Thor Odinson, who everyone knew was head over heels for Jane. Darcy would be surprised if he didn’t ask her to prom by the end of the night. 

A tall, blonde head of hair caught Darcy’s eye. Steve Rogers, football quarterback and nicest guy around, was grinning as his best friend, Bucky Barnes, tried to chat up Natasha. From the looks of it, he was doing very poorly. Steve caught Darcy’s eye and winked before grabbing Bucky and leading him away from further embarrassment. Darcy felt herself blush what must have been a brilliant red. She had had a crush on Steve since the beginning of the year when they were paired together for a project in their AP Government class. Not only did Steve have those all American good looks and boy next door charm, the boy also knew a thing or two about democracy. Darcy had never been so happy to write a report about gerrymandering in her life. 

They had remained friendly since then, texting about homework assignments and after school review sessions. Darcy had even hung out with Steve at Tony’s last party. Turns out that Steve was allergic to most drinks and Bucky was almost more than Steve could handle at his most sober. Darcy would be lying if she said she wasn’t affected by Steve’s piercing blue eyes and award winning smile. Plus the man was shaped like a freaking Dorito, Could you really blame a girl for falling heads over heels? 

Darcy was distracted from her daydreaming by the sight of Jane frowning a little while grabbing her stomach. Darcy was practiced enough in the art of Jane partying that she recognized that Jane was going to boot any second. She quickly grabbed Jane, made her apologies to Thor, and steered her stumbling best friend towards the nearest bathroom. 

Unfortunately, they almost ran headlong into Steve and Bucky, the latter being in a state very similar to Jane’s. 

“Ladies first,” Steve said with a smile, gesturing towards the bathroom. Darcy would have thanked him if Jane didn’t look like she was about to upchuck on Darcy’s favorite pair of Converse. Darcy held back Jane’s hair while she puked for a little, then helped her get herself cleaned up. 

“Alright, Janie?” Darcy asked. 

“You know me Darce,” Jane said. “Boot and rally!” 

She ran off, no doubt right back to Thor. Darcy exited the bathroom to find Bucky vomiting into a plotted plant while Steve held back his shoulder length hair. Darcy couldn’t help but crack up at the ridiculous sight. 

“Having a good night, Darcy?” Steve asked while he patted Bucky on the shoulder consolingly. 

“Pretty good,” Darcy replied. “Although I think Jane might need some help again later.” 

Bucky stood up, wiped his mouth on his sleeve, nodded at Darcy, and sauntered over towards Natasha. Steve just chuckled. 

“He’ll never learn,” Steve said with a slight smile. He turned back to Darcy. “Seems like we’re both designated hair holders.” 

Darcy laughed. “We should get tee shirts. Make ourselves easily identifiable for all who might require our services.” 

Darcy and Steve talked for the rest of the night, happy that they weren’t called upon to help their friends again. Jane was looking a little green around the gills at one point, but Thor seemed to have everything under control. Steve and Darcy laughed at the sight of Natasha pulling Bucky up the grand staircase, no doubt looking for an empty room. Towards the end of the night, the conversation turned towards prom. 

“So, who’s the lucky lady that gets to call Steve Rogers her prom date?” Darcy asked. She hadn’t heard any gossip about it and apparently she just loved to torture herself. 

“About that,” Steve began, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. “I, uh, was wondering if you would like to go with me?” Darcy just stared at him for a second. “You know, because, uh, I like talking to you, and you’re obviously a great friend, and, uh, you’re really pretty…” Steve blushed. “I’ll just stop talking now.” 

“Of course I’ll go with you!” Darcy finally managed to pull herself together and was rewarded with the brightest smile she had ever seen from Steve. They just smiled at each other like idiots until Bucky practically threw himself at Steve. 

“Hey, punk, do I have some things to tell you!” he said, words slightly slurred. Steve tried to push him back upright before turning back to Darcy. 

“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” he said, still smiling. 

“Sure,” Darcy said. She glanced at Bucky for a second. “You better get him out of her quick though. I don’t think Natasha would be happy if he told the entire party about their little rendezvous.” Steve just chuckled as he steered Bucky towards the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated in such a long time, this summer's been really busy! Hope you all enjoy!


	7. The First Thursday of the Month

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate Tattoo AU. Darcy/Johnny Storm

Darcy absolutely hated the first Thursday of every month. Jane and Reed Richards had a standing science date which usually just turned into lots of shouting and Jane throwing things around the lab. Darcy had tried to keep the peace until she realized that they did their best work after their knock down fights. Apparently it was called a “storming phase” and it was an important part of teambuilding. She looked it up online. 

Needless to say, Darcy was never happy during the first Thursday of the month. She was normally a preppy person but even the best of good moods couldn’t handle the near-disastrous event that was a Jane-Richards fight. 

The past couple of months, Richards’ brother in law and fellow member of the Fantastic Four Johnny Storm had accompanied the ego crazed scientist to Avengers Tower. He seemed amused by the antics of the scientists, which made Darcy even more annoyed. They never spoke, although Storm would shoot Darcy a smile every once in a while. She never reciprocated. It had nothing to do with Storm’s reputation and everything to do with her bad mood. She didn’t care how many girls he may or may not have slept with. She wouldn’t smile at a nun in the middle of one those science dates. 

One day, Storm sauntered in the lab a few steps behind Richards, as per usual. He turned to Darcy and actually spoke to her. “Do you ever smile?”

“Do you ever shut the fuck up?” Darcy wasn’t proud of her reaction. She didn’t think about the manners her mother taught her, she didn’t think about the fact that Storm could literally light her on fire in vengeance, and she sure as hell didn’t think about those exact words that were printed on her ribs right underneath her bra. 

Storm, make that Johnny, her freaking soul mate, just blinked before smiling even wider. “Well this went about ten times better than I expected.” 

“I’m sorry about that,” Darcy said slightly apologetic. “These two just really get on my nerves.” She shot a glare at Jane and Richards, who were already starting an argument over how to organize the data from last month. “You know what, let’s get the hell out of here. I swear I’m not that much of a bitch.”

“If you say so,” Johnny laughed, throwing his arm over Darcy’s shoulders as they left the enraged scientists behind. Jane and Richards never noticed that they left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


	8. Why So Salty?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I put salt in your coffee while you were in the bathroom and you drank it all and that was hardcore want to go out sometime?  
> Darcy/Bucky

Darcy’s mother told her more than once that she lacked self-preservation instincts. That was probably how she ended up tasing that hot, buff, blond dude who turned out to be a god, battling a robot of doom with said god, ripping holes in time and space to defeat evil elves, and living in the most famous high rise in New York City with a bunch of super heroes. It was also how she ended up dumping a healthy portion of salt into a former assassin’s morning cup of joe. 

It was a lazy Sunday morning in Avengers Tower. The world was safe (for the moment). The mad scientists had decided to take a break from their crazy experiments. None of the Avengers were out on a mission. Sam and Steve had finally brought Bucky home and he seemed to be adjusting as well as could have been expected. Life was good. 

Everyone had gathering in Stark’s gigantic kitchen for breakfast. When Bucky left to go to the bathroom, Darcy pounced. She was proud to say that the only people who noticed were Natasha and Clint. Nat just raised her eyebrows a miniscule amount that said “I’m slightly impressed by your bravery but also baffled by your recklessness.” Clint chuckled to himself in a way that said “I can’t wait to see you get your ass handed to you.” 

Bucky walked back into the kitchen, took a small sip of his coffee, and then drank the rest of it in one go, all while maintaining eye contact with Darcy.

“Holy shit, that was so badass,” Darcy said. “Like, legit the coolest thing I’ve seen this week. Wanna go get some gelato later?” 

“Gelato?” Bucky asked. 

“Yeah, like ice cream,” Darcy responded. “And it would totally be a date by the way.” 

“You gonna put salt in that too?” Bucky shot back while pouring himself a fresh cup of coffee. 

“Not if you promise to kiss me at the end of the night.” Darcy was immensely pleased with herself as Bucky nearly chocked on his coffee. She chalked another victory up to her so-called lack of self-preservation instincts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. All of your comments really make my day :)


	9. Big Assassins Don't Cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate Tattoo AU. Don't tell anyone you saw me crying. Darcy/Bucky

Darcy Lewis was a strong independent woman, thank you very much. She prided herself on keeping her cool, no matter the situation. Part of it had to with her words. Don’t tell anyone you saw me crying. Her soulmate needed her to be strong for them. She could do that. 

Darcy was the clear, level headed on in New Mexico when they were first introduced to Thor and she had managed to keep both herself and Ian from freaking out when Jane disappeared for a bit while they were in London. Darcy Lewis did not freak out, and that was part of the reason why Pepper freaking Potts hired her to essentially babysit the Avengers. That faith was confirmed when Darcy kept Stark Tower up and running while Tony and Pepper were dealing with that whole Mandarin situation and when SHIELD came crashing down (quite literally). Pepper, being the best boss ever, gave her a pair of Jimmy Choo pumps as a thank you gift. Darcy’s life might be crazy, but it was awesome too. 

The Winter Soldier coming back to his best pal Steve at the facility in upstate New York was nothing to write home about. Not that Darcy could, what with all those non-disclosure agreements that she practically signed with her own blood. It was just one more crazy day in the life of a super hero caretaker. Darcy made all the arrangements for Barnes to be given a set of rooms in the same wing as Steve’s but far enough away to give the man some space. Darcy had her fair share of nightmare roommates in college and she had practically lived on top of Jane and Erik in New Mexico. She wouldn’t wish that on anyone, much less a recently brainwashed assassin trying to find himself. 

Darcy also gave the guy a break and filled out the requisition forms for the gear he would need. The Avengers weren’t technically associated with SHIELD anymore but Darcy and Pepper ran a tight ship. Darcy did write him a note explaining how an Avenger would go about getting more Kevlar suits or throwing knives while simultaneously making it clear that she would not be doing that for him anymore. The man was a recovering assassin. He was more than capable of filling out some paperwork. 

Beyond that, Darcy didn’t really have any interactions with the newest member of Earth’s mightiest heroes. He seemed to take pretty good care of himself and never made a spectacle of himself in the media, so Darcy couldn’t care less what he did in his free time. She was a bit concerned when he managed to break his non-metal arm in a skirmish with the last holdouts of a Hydra cell, but Steve assured her that he was alright. She was even more concerned when the rest of the team was called away to deal with the largest Hydra base left in Europe and she was left behind with Bucky. 

Darcy was never more surprised than when she wandered into the communal kitchen late one night and found Bucky pacing around the island, muttering to himself, and basically freaking the fuck out. She knew enough to stand back and let him sort out his issues before trying to help him. The last thing anyone needed was for Bucky to attack Darcy because he got too close. Darcy didn’t think he would, but better safe than sorry. 

Eventually Bucky leaned against the wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting on the ground, arms wrapped around his knees. He looked up at Darcy and she was shocked to see that his eyes were red and that there were tear tracks down his face. She didn’t hesitate before sitting down right next to him, her shoulder right just barely brushing up against his metal one. They sat there is silence for several long minutes while Bucky pulled himself together. 

“Don’t tell anyone about me crying,” Bucky finally said in a quiet voice. He was staring straight ahead, studiously avoiding eye contact. 

“Sure thing,” Darcy said. Now she knew when she realized that Bucky had been crying that there was a very high potential that he was her soulmate, but that didn’t mean that she was anywhere near prepared for actual confirmation of that fact. But she was strong. He needed her to be. So she just sat there in what she hoped was a supportive way while not freaking out. 

“You must think I’m real messed up,” Bucky said, still not meeting her gaze. “Sitting on the kitchen floor, bawling my eyes out in the middle of the night.” He sniffed and looked like he hated himself for yet another display of weakness. 

“Nah,” Darcy replied while scooting a little closer to Bucky. “I think you’ve earned the right to have your emotional breakdowns in the middle of a semi-private kitchen.” She paused. “Besides, I must have a talent for seeking out the emotionally distressed. You have no idea how many people, super or otherwise, who have sworn me to secrecy.” 

Bucky lifted his arm slightly so Darcy could duck under it. There was some awkward maneuvering as Darcy avoided Bucky’s still injured right arm, which was in a sling, but they figured it out eventually. Bucky sighed. “You’re probably in for a lot more of this, ya know? I ain’t exactly the model for perfect mental or emotional health.” 

“You take care of the physical strength,” Darcy replied. “I’ll take care of the rest.” They sat there in an easy and comfortable silence for what felt like hours. When Bucky began to shake a little and Darcy felt a few tears land on the top of her head, she only held him closer. Bucky didn’t need to tell her that they were tears of gratitude, happiness, relief. He just kissed her on the forehead. They both shared a shaky smile right as the first rays of sun light snuck their way through the kitchen windows.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's safe to say that this one is my favorite so far :)


	10. Nope. Never Gonna Happen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy/Tony Soulmate AU. Post Captain American: The Winter Soldier, Pre Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Darcy went through a few different stages when it came to her feelings about her words. But her parents never wavered in their opinions. Darcy’s soulmate was a loser who didn’t know how lucky he was to have soulmate like Darcy. It’s hard to blame them, considering their daughter had the words Oh no. I’ve heard about you. Nope. Never gonna happen. scrawled right underneath her collar bone on the left side of her chest. 

But Darcy didn’t always hate her soulmate. When she was younger, she didn’t really understand what exactly the words meant or why they mattered. In elementary school, she thought that her soulmate might not like her because she was too loud, so she tried to be quiet in class and be a good girl at home. In middle school, she was so painfully awkward and ostracized by her uh, advanced development, that she tried to draw as little attention to herself as possible. Plus, maybe her words would change if her soulmate never heard about her. It could happen. Maybe. Probably not. But a girl could have hope. In high school she decided to come out of her shell a little more, but lived in dread of the day that she would do something so horrible that she chased her soulmate away.

On the day that Darcy graduated, she decided that she didn’t really give a fuck what her soulmate thought. She was awesome and if he didn’t realize that, then his loss. So she finally acted like herself. She hitched her wagon to Jane’s (apparently not-so-crazy) train (as proved by the literal God that fell from the sky). If she still wore chunky sweaters that covered her words and cried herself to sleep every now and then thinking about the rejection she would one day face, well, who could blame her. She was awesome, not devoid of emotions. 

So life went on. Darcy helped beat a Destroyer while making friends with some Asgardians, traveled all the way to Norway just to throw a hissy fit with Jane when Thor didn’t even bother to call or stop by, hired an intern, saved the universe from elves out of Tolkien’s worst nightmare, tased said intern in the balls (for real) when he tried to steal Jane’s work, and finally decided to settle down in DC with another (unpaid) internship, this time in the field she was actually professionally interested. Darcy thought life had worked out alright, until Captain America decided to bring SHIELD crashing down around her ears, when she hightailed it to New York as soon as she could pack up her essentials. 

It’s a good thing that Pepper Potts and Tony Stark had the inclination and the means to take in strays. So, after the whirlwind that Darcy could barely believe was the past five years of her life, she ended up living in a (rent free) apartment next to Jane on the 70th floor of Avengers Tower. Pepper saw her in action once (during a particularly intense science bender) and hired her to be lab manager for all of R&D, which was comprised mainly of Jane, Dr. Banner, and the one and only Tony Stark. 

It was her first week of work in her new job and Darcy was surprised at the ease of the transition. Jarvis was a major help. He helped her monitor when the scientists were attempting something particularly dangerous and kept a running tab of how long the scientists had been working. He even had the power to shut down power to the labs if Darcy authorized it. She doubted that any of the scientists would be too keen on breaking the rules of physics or biology by candlelight. 

She had just convinced Jane to eat an entire sandwich in between calculations and calibrations when Jarvis got her attention. “Miss Lewis,” he said. “It appears that Mr. Stark is currently attempting some suit modifications that have the potential for explosive damage.” 

Darcy cursed under her breath. “Thanks, Jarvis. Think you could call an elevator for me? I need to get the mad inventor before he blows another hole in his own damn building.” 

“Of course, Miss Lewis,” the AI replied. “It would be my genuine pleasure.”

“You’re a peach, Jarvis,” Darcy said as she ran towards the elevator bank. She had never really met the infamous billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, but she was well aware of his penchant for explosive experiment failures. It was her job to prevent any damages. 

She barreled out of the elevator at her (admittedly not very impressive) full speed and barged right into Tony’s workshop. 

“Tony Stark, I swear to God, if you make anything blow up I will make you blow up!” she yelled to make sure that Stark could hear her over the sound of whatever power tool he was using. 

“Oh no. I’ve heard about you. Nope. Never gonna happen,” Stark said, dropping the welding touch that he had been using. Darcy sent a prayer up to Thor or whoever was listening that he had remembered to turn it off first. Pepper was a doll, but Darcy doubted that she would let her stick around if Tony managed to melt his own foot off. That was a pretty major way of failing to meet her job’s expectations.

Darcy managed to get over her initial shock and marched right up to Tony so they were practically eye-to-eye. “And why the hell not?” she demanded. 

“I’ve talked to Foster and Bruce,” Tony said, not backing down. “I am perfectly happy with my current situation. I do not need a babysitter!” He gave her a slow once over, from head to toe. “However, I would not mind a soulmate.” 

Darcy deflated. “Oh,” she said, barely audible. “I, um, just thought, you know, because of what you said…” She felt like she was on the verge of tears and she wasn’t quite sure why. 

Tony considered that for a moment. Darcy was gratified to see his smile falter a little. “Well, I guess those words could be misleading,” Tony said. He reached a tentative hand to brush a lock of hair behind her ear. Darcy gave him a weak smile so he tugged her into a hug. Even though Tony was a bit shorter than Darcy had imagined, she was happy to see that the top of her head fit snuggly under his chin. She wrapped her arms around his waist while Tony began rubbing her back. “I’ll make it up to you,” Tony said, much more subdued. “We can go wherever you want. I’ll grab the jet and we can go to Paris, Rome, Hong Kong, Malibu…” This time Tony trailed off. He would never admit it, but he was near tears as well. He never thought that something would hurt as much as the idea that the one person in this world who was perfect for him going through life thinking that she was unwanted. He wasn’t very good with the whole feelings thing, but he would make damn sure that Darcy knew that she was wanted. 

Darcy peeled herself away from Tony just enough to look up at him. “I’ve always wanted to go to Paris. I’m a sucker for a good crepe,” Darcy said. “I took French in high school, too.” Darcy was reward with the brightest smile she had ever seen. That smile took her breath away. She vowed right then that she would do her best to see that smile as often as she could. 

“Awesome,” Tony said, giving her one last squeeze before taking a step back. “Let me just finish this up and we’ll be on our way,” he continued, indicating the modifications he had been making before Darcy interrupted. 

“Absolutely not,” Darcy said. 

“C’mon, Darcy-“ 

“Over my dead body.” 

“It’s just some minor modifications!” 

“Jarvis said there were potential explosions involved! That’s not minor!” 

“Look, the repulsers just need a bit of improvement and –“ 

“No. Get the jet, Tony. We’re going to Paris.” 

“Yes, Darcy,” Tony sighed, still smiling. Darcy smiled back. She could get used to this.


	11. "Public Displays of Affection Make People Uncomfortable"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: My friend dragged me to this party and my ex is here. Quick, make out with me!  
> Steve/Darcy

Darcy hated being dragged to things. More specifically, she hated it when Jane dragged her to Stark’s parties. The man just had to throw a party for any and all occasions, most often the scientific discoveries of the scientists three or the latest Avengers victory. It was fun at first, but there were only so many times that Darcy could drink herself into a stupor on a Tuesday night, still manage to prevent explosions at work the next day, and not die from alcohol poisoning, exhaustion, or a combination of both. Plus, Stark’s parties got real boring, real fast. But what can you expect when Jane was opening worm holes every other weekend and the Avengers were handling disasters and attacks around the world almost as frequently? 

Jane and Darcy usually begged out early or didn’t show up at all, using science as an excuse. But this particular party was being thrown in Jane’s honor (apparently the most recent worm hole was different that the last twenty that she had opened), so the pair felt obligated to stick around. 

“Christ, I wish these parties were a little more interesting,” Darcy complained. Darcy, Jane, Natasha, and Steve had formed an anti-party squad that usually hung out at these stupid events. It was more fun to be miserably bored together, apparently. 

“Be careful what you wish for,” Jane said, pointing to a man just getting off the elevator. Darcy was already very well aware of who had just walked into the room. 

“Aw, shit,” Darcy said. “Someone hide me.” She jumped behind Jane, despite the fact that the petite scientist provided the least amount of cover by a long shot. But Darcy could not just jump behind Captain America. She had dignity, god damn it! Well, not a lot of it. But she thought she might spontaneously combust if she got that close to Steve Roger’s ass. And Natasha didn’t like being jumped behind. Darcy had experience. 

“Why?” Steve asked. He was peering at the skinny man who had just entered the room, confused as to why the usually unflappable Darcy Lewis was cowering in fear. This was the girl who wrangled Tony Stark on a daily basis, for God’s sake! 

“That’s the douche canoe,” Jane said with distaste. “Ian and Darcy were together until he decided she was too dumb for him.” She sighed. “So what’s the strategy here, confrontation or avoidance?” 

“Avoidance, I think,” Darcy replied. She was nearly on her knees in her attempt to make herself shorter than Jane. “I already poured, like, four drinks on him. And I tased him once.” Jane frowned like she thought he deserved way worse, and Steve couldn’t help but agree. Douche canoe indeed. 

“Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable,” Natasha supplied in between sips on her dirty martini. Say what you want about Stark parties, but even Darcy couldn’t argue with the fact that he had the best bar tenders in the city. Maybe the country. 

Darcy looked up at the assassin in confusion. “Are you saying you want to hold my hand, Tash?” she asked, grinning. 

Natasha raised one eyebrow before replaying. “Make out with someone. He’ll leave you alone.” 

Darcy smiled. “Now you’re speaking my language,” she said as she hopped to her feet. “Brace yourself, Stevie” 

In retrospect, Steve was very glad that Darcy was so game. If he had been given time to consider Natasha’s suggestion, he would have overthought it. Refused because he didn’t want to make Darcy uncomfortable. Refused because he didn’t want to fall any more for Darcy than he already had. 

But Darcy didn’t give him any time and she didn’t do anything half assed. Steve thought that this kiss was miles ahead of the one that he and Natasha had shared in the mall before the whole SHIELD disaster. That had been carefully orchestrated, mostly on the part of Natasha, to look convincing from the outside. In reality, it had been cold, professional. Not that Steve minded. He’s pretty sure Clint would impale him with some specialty arrow if he had a passionate make out session with Natasha. 

Darcy was not Natasha, thank god. She wasn’t trained in the art of deception. She was just an ordinary woman, avoiding her asshole of an ex by making out (enthusiastically) with the man of her dreams. Literally. She sent a silent thanks to Natasha, Jane, Stark, even Ian, anyone who had a hand in making the most wonderful kiss of her life happen. 

Steve felt he was a kid again, recovering from a particularly severe asthma attack, when they finally separated. He was gratified to see that Darcy’s chest was also heaving. Well, less gratified and more turned on, but, same difference really. 

“Well,” Darcy said, still grazing up at Steve. “If I knew this is what being a spy was like, I would have signed up ages ago.” Natasha sighed, but Darcy knew her well enough to know that it was an affectionate sigh. “C’mon, soldier,” Darcy continued, tugging on Steve’s tie. “We have spy skills to practice. Never know when we’ll have to go undercover.” She winked, grinning when Steve started to blush. 

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, adding a salute, before dutifully following her towards the elevator. 

Jane smiled, sent a dirty look in Ian’s general direction, and turned to carefully consider Natasha. “Are you up for antagonizing the douche canoe until he runs home crying? I’ve got a few ideas I’ve been itching to try out,” she asked. 

“Now you’re talking,” Natasha said. Jane sent a prayer up to Thor that Natasha never looked at her the way she was currently glaring at Ian.


	12. I'm Not Letting You Go On A Suicide Mission Until You Take A Nap!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve/Darcy Soulmate AU

Darcy wasn’t quite sure when or how it happened, but she had ended up adopting the Avengers. Go figure. All she knew was that she had started out making sure Jane ate, slept, and showered in between bouts of science(!) and ended up stealing Tony’s coffee when he reached hour 30 of no sleep, knitting throw blankets and scarves for Natasha, making arrow labels for Clint, special ordering herbal tea for Bruce, and ordering extra groceries every time Thor stopped by. While she hadn’t actually met Steve yet, she had a feeling she would end up taking care of him eventually. Apparently Darcy was a magnet for superheroes who didn’t know how to take care of themselves. 

There was a good reason that Steve had never met Darcy Lewis. He and his new friend Sam had been hunting Bucky across the world. Literally. They made stops in Brazil, Russia, the Congo, Japan, Thailand, England, Mexico, and even the Vatican. Steve and Sam were usually greeted by a grisly pile of Hydra bodies, a burning building, and the realization that they had just missed Bucky, sometimes by as little as a few minutes. At each location, there was just enough information to figure out where the assassin was headed next. Steve was starting to think that Bucky was doing it on purpose, leading them on a merry little chase across the globe. For anyone other than Bucky, Steve didn’t think he would have been able to persevere for so long. 

All of their efforts finally paid off when they found a message from Bucky at his most recent stop on his Hydra destruction parade. There was a piece of paper stuck into the wall with a knife, right at Steve’s eye level. Steve grimaced as he stepped over the body of a (former) Hydra supporter before pulling the message from the wall and pocketing the knife. 

“Hey punk,” he read aloud for Sam’s benefit. “I’m just about done with this business I needed to take care of. I would appreciate some help, though. I’ve got one more loose end I have to tie up before we can catch up. I’m sure you can figure out where and when to find me. See ya soon, punk.” It wasn’t signed, but it wasn’t hard to determine that it really was from Bucky. Steve and Sam downloaded the contents of the few computers they could find before wiping the hard drives and putting a few bullets through them, just in case. Steve has never been in more of a hurry to get back to Tony Stark and his ridiculous tower in his life. 

Darcy returned from her daily coffee break to find Tony’s lab in even more chaos that usual, which even Darcy has to admit was impressive. She took a moment to take stock of the occupants of the room, namely one Steve Rogers who looked like he hadn’t slept since the fall of SHIELD. She made a mental note to bully the super soldier into catching a few z’s later since the hero type never seemed to be able to tell when they needed to go the fuck to bed. 

“Tony, what gives?” she asked, distributing the coffees that she had picked up for Tony and Jane and the green tea that she had picked up for Bruce. The world could be ending, for all that Darcy knew, but that was no reason to withhold caffeine. 

“Capsicle’s found his old buddy,” Tony said, not looking away from the hologram monitor he was using. “Apparently, he needs some help blowing Hydra sky high, so I’m inclined to help, for once.” 

“Okay,” started Steve. “We need to come up with a strategy. Barton, Sam will fly you in first so you have a good vantage point. You’ll need to keep all of us updated over the comms. Romanoff –“ 

Darcy was not going to stand for this. Apparently, once you adopt one Avenger, you adopt them all. No way in hell was she going to let Captain America take on the biggest remaining faction of Hydra while he was practically falling asleep on his shield. “I’m not letting you go on a suicide mission until you at least take a nap!” she nearly screamed. 

Steve seemed taken aback. Darcy was preparing herself for an argument (that she was sure she would win) before Steve relaxed a minute amount. Darcy was almost surprised that she noticed it at all. “Well, I guess you’re the only one I would listen to right about now,” he said quietly. Jane gasped. She knew that Darcy had those exact words printed around her right ankle. Darcy was a little slower to react. She just gazed at Steve for a few moments before launching herself at him, thanking the gods and Steve’s super soldier reflexes that he caught her despite the fact that he was dead tired. 

“Great,” Tony grumbled, still not taking his eyes off of the display he was monitoring. “You two go do whatever it is that the kids do these days. This is gonna take a while for Jarvis and I to crack.” 

Darcy didn’t need to be told twice. She grabbed Steve’s arm and dragged him from the lab, leaving a collection of shocked superheroes and geniuses in her wake. 

“So, what is it that the kids are doing these days?” Steve asked with a snarky grin once they reached the elevator. 

“Well the superhero kids take naps while us mere mortals who take care of superheroes start cooking. You guys are gonna be starving by the time you get back.” Steve turned the puppy dog eyes on her and she swore that she almost turned into a pile of goo right there in Tony’s elevator. “Well, I guess I could stay with you a few minutes. Read you a bedtime story, tuck you in, and all that jazz.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading you guys! :)


	13. Thighs That Could Kill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I don't want to be lady like! I want to lure men to their deaths!"

Darcy didn’t suffer from false modesty. She knew that she was a kick ass chick. Or, at least, she had been a kick ass chick before she started hanging out with the goddesses that were Jane Foster, Pepper Potts, Natasha Romanoff, and Wanda Maximoff. Darcy still new that she was pretty cool, but she felt the pressure to up her badass-ness around the BAMF women that she worked with. 

Darcy was definitely a soft science person. While she was great at managing people and had better people skills than Jane could ever dream of, Darcy was lost when it came to anything remotely relating to String Theory. Among normal people, no one would even notice. But considering Jane was ripping holes into parallel universes bi-weekly (don’t even get her started on all the strange characters that had been deposited in the lab over the past few weeks), Darcy didn’t think she would be able to impress anyone with her science knowledge anytime soon. 

Wanda had super powers. Darcy didn’t even pursue that train of thought any further. She had no interest in getting experimented on or exposed to anything that might cause cancer, plus she wasn’t lucky enough to be born as a practically immortal demi-god/alien. So no super powers. 

Darcy was convinced that Pepper also had super powers. She was in a long term relationship with Tony Stark and hadn’t had a psychotic break yet. That left Darcy with one option: learn how to fight like the Black Widow. 

Now just because Darcy didn’t have a doctorate in theoretical physics didn’t mean that she was stupid. She knew that she would never get to Natasha’s level of ass kicking. But she could get close enough to up her cool factor a bit. 

Darcy’s plan hit a major snag very early on. 

“C’mon, Tasha,” Darcy openly begged during communal breakfast in the kitchen one morning. “I just need to know a few things. Oh, like the thigh thing! Teach me how to kill men with my thighs!” 

Bucky chuckled. “Pretty sure you already can, doll” he said with a quick glance at the large expanse of Darcy’s legs that were exposed by her tiny sleep shorts. Steve smacked him on the back of the head. Darcy sent Steve a smile in thanks for defending her honor. Usually she found that sort of thing condescending, but she severely doubted that Steve intended it that way. 

“That’s my point!” Darcy nearly screeched. “What if some dude decides he wants some of this awesomeness and won’t take no for an answer?” 

Bucky straightened up, all signs of humor leaving his face. “Is someone bothering you, Darce?” Darcy almost shuddered under the intensity of his gaze. She didn’t even want to contemplate being on the receiving end of one of Bucky’s murderous glares. 

“Not since my frat party days, Barnes” Darcy reassured him. She was slightly surprised to see all of the superheroes around the table relax. Except for Jane, that is. She was too absorbed in some data on a Stark Pad to even pay attention to the topic of conversation. Darcy thought she could take advantage of this. “Boss lady, tell these fools that I need to be trained in the arts of battling men with my thighs!” Darcy didn’t miss Bucky’s eye fliting back to her legs. She readjusted the way she was sitting to give him a better look and heard him inhale sharply. She smiled at the small victory. 

“Um, that doesn’t sound very lady like,” Jane muttered, not even looking up from her data. 

Darcy’s grin fell immediately. “I don’t want to be lady like! I want to lure men to their death!” She glanced at the assembled residents of the Avengers compound and was discourage to see that no one seemed very inclined to support her side of the argument. “Whatever,” she murmured on her way out of the kitchen, letting her dishes fall into the sink with a clank that reverberated throughout the room. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bucky found her a couple of hours later, angrily glaring at her desktop computer in the labs. “Watcha up to, doll?” he asked, swinging himself up to sit on top of Darcy’s desk. 

Darcy shifted her glare to Bucky. “I’m deleting all the workout clothes from my shopping cart because none of you fools will teach me how to fight!” 

“But you don’t need to know how to, Darce,” Bucky said. “You’ve got an entire team of super heroes to protect you.” He was silent for a moment. “Plus me.” 

Darcy shot him a look that said she noticed that he said he didn’t consider himself a super hero and that she thought that it was bullshit. “I don’t want to actually fight people!” Darcy let her head fall onto her keyboard. “I just want to know that I can.” Bucky rubbed Darcy’s back in what he hopped was a soothing manner. He didn’t really do this sort of thing too often. At least not in recent memory. “Jane’s a genius, Wanda has super powers, Pepper practically rules the world while wearing 8 inch Louis Vuitton pumps, and Natasha…well, she’s just Natasha! I need to up my cool factor or they’ll kick me out of the circle of awesome ladies!” Darcy felt even less cool once she explained her predicament. She was actually getting less cool by the minute. 

“Did someone tell you this?” Bucky asked, still rubbing her back, extremely reluctant to stop touching her. Darcy just shook her head. “Then I can guarantee you that you’re totally wrong on this one, doll. Look at me.” Darcy sat back up with a groan. Bucky shifted his hand from her back, down her arm, until he somehow ended up with their fingers intertwined. He tried not to think about his sudden increase in heart rate and breathing as he pushed on. “Darcy, you wrangle Jane, Bruce, Tony, and the rest of us on a daily basis. You handle all that social media shit when something blows up on the internet for some reason. You always have homemade bread waiting for us when we get back from missions. You were dragged into all of this shit, with almost no say in the matter, but you didn’t bail on Jane. You’re the only normal one here and you don’t let this crazy world that we live in turn you into something you’re not. If that’s not cool enough to hang out with any awesome ladies circle, than I don’t know what is.” 

Darcy was a little dumbstruck. She didn’t think Bucky had spoken that much at one time since the 1940’s. She finally collected herself enough to respond. “I think I have a better idea for how to up my cool factor.” 

Bucky was a little unnerved by the grin rapidly spreading across Darcy’s face. “What?” he asked. 

“A date with a reformed Russian spyssasin would make me coolest girl on the compound,” she paused to consider her previous statement for a moment. “Maybe in the entire state.” 

Bucky smiled. “Now that I would be happy to help you with, doll.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that's been such a long time, but I've had school, work, yada, yada. Life just always seems to get in the way. Anyway, I hope that you all enjoy this!


	14. I Thought We Were Having A Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I actually thought that we were having a moment there, you know, before you tried to kill me.” Soulmate AU. Darcy/Bucky.

Darcy hated her life. Actually, that was an outright lie. She usually loved her life. She handled PR for the fucking Avengers. She has a swanky apartment in Stark Tower for when she needed to be in New York, another kick ass apartment in the new Avengers compound upstate (which was usually her home base), and an awesome brownstone in Washington, D.C. for when work dragged her to the capital. She still got hang with Jane all the time and she had an awesome group of lady friends. Who else could say that they got to drink too many margaritas and play truth or dare with the world’s leading astrophysicist, one of the most deadly assassins in the world, a gorgeous superhero who had honest to god telekinesis, and Pepper Potts (Darcy didn’t think that Pepper needed any sort of introduction)? Plus she hung out with the Avengers all the time. Life was awesome. 

Most of the time. Every now and then shit went down and the Avengers Assembled and girls nights were the furthest things from anyone’s mind. It was during these times that Darcy was reminded that her makeshift family were actually superheroes responsible for the safety of the world. But then the crisis was over and it was Darcy’s job to remind Tony not to be a jackass in front of the camera and remind Barton what he could and couldn’t say during any press conferences and she almost forgot again. Until the next time shit went down. 

Darcy hadn’t been in the middle of a superhero level crisis since London, and that had been different. Her, Jane, Ian, and Thor were the ones taking on the evil villains. They had a plan. Darcy had action to focus on. That didn’t bother her too much (no, the occasional nightmares don’t count as bothering her, especially compared to the shit that the people she lived with dealt with on a daily basis). 

But right now, Darcy hated her life. Some serious shit was going down and she had no idea what was going on. She was no better than any of the innocents who got caught in the crossfire of good versus evil, the Avengers versus the villain du jour.

Darcy had driven from the Avengers compound to the small town nearby, intending on picking up some supplies that was desperately needed (alright it was an adult coloring book and some markers but Darcy’s life was as stressful as it was awesome so the supplies was very badly need). She was in the bookstore in the middle of a grungy strip mall when an explosion rocked the building. 

Now, Darcy was terrified, but she wasn’t stupid. So when the explosion settled down into the sounds of exchanging gunfire, Darcy rolled under the nearest display table and hoped to Thor and whoever was listening that no one would notice her until after the killing was over. She just had to hope that her proximity to the Avengers compound meant that help wouldn’t be too far away. 

Of course, luck was not on Darcy’s side. Someone burst into the building and ran behind a bookshelf for cover. Darcy stared at the stranger’s black combat boots as he fired through the shattered glass of the store front and tried her hardest not to make any noise. Apparently, she was not successful, as the stranger dropped down to one knee and stared down the length of the store, right into Darcy’s eyes. 

Darcy felt whatever breath she had leave her. She knew who this man was. Thor help her, the Winter Soldier was staring at her front across a bookstore in upstate New York while someone (SHIELD, Hydra, someone else who just wanted to ruin Darcy’s day, who knows) shot at them. But all Darcy noticed was that his eyes were the most starling shade of blue she had ever seen. They were also the saddest eyes she had ever seen, and that was saying something, considering she was personal friends with a man who had been frozen for seventy years. Neither Darcy nor Barnes blinked, and she began to wonder what he saw in her eyes. 

Darcy didn’t have any time to ponder that question before Barnes was sprinting the length of the store, dragging her out from under the table, and shoving her roughly against the wall. 

Darcy sighed. “I actually thought we were having a moment there, you know, before you tried to kill me.” Barnes slowly raised one eyebrow as the table she had been hiding under was suddenly riddled with bullets. Darcy swallowed thickly. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Barnes rubbed her arms, then relaxed as she realized he was trying to comfort her. What the hell was her life? 

“Believe me, doll, if I was trying to kill you, you’d be dead.” Darcy took a moment to appreciate the sexiest voice she had ever heard in her life before she jumped in surprise again. 

“Holy shit,” she almost whispered. “You – how – what – I…” She took a deep breath and tried again. “Well, isn’t this a pleasant surprise.” 

“You have an interesting definition of pleasant,” Barnes (Bucky? James?) replied. 

Just then, Darcy caught a glimpse of her favorite patriotic Frisbee and telltale wisps of red in the air. “Looks like the cavalry’s arrived. You’re here to make nice with Steve, right?” 

“That was the plan,” he responded. “Hydra disagrees, I think.” He paused for a moment, glancing at his metal arm. “Sorry to lead them right to you, I thought I had managed to get rid of all the trackers.” 

Darcy shrugged. “We can handle it. You gonna go help Steve? Just like old times?” 

A ghost of a smile passed over Barnes’ face. “I think I’ll stay here. You seem to attract trouble.” 

Darcy snorted. “You have no idea.”


End file.
